BFS = Big Fight Scheduled. I’m bummed.

[Darth-Baiter]

Today was not great.  Windy as heck.  Gust up to 30-40 probably. 
 

fish were stubborn and dieting or something.  Zero bites.  I reached for my Finesse baitcaster and rigged up a super light weighted Texas rig.  I used the tail section of a trick worm. It was like skinny TRD finesse. 
 

I casted it out there. I was quietly marveling at how far  that bait flew. Daydreaming almost.  TICK!!  Huh?  Was that a tick?  I set the hook thinking hook sets are free.  
 

All hell broke loose.  My reel drag was way too tight.  I somehow got the rod and fish on the other side of my kayak before it sucked my rod tip under my boat for a for sure rod-snappage.   There was zero turning that fish. I was reaching to loosen the drag when I felt it come loose. I let loose an, “AARGGHH!” That may still be echoing in that valley.  There were too many children on the beach for me to say what I wanted.

 

I looked at the hook and the point was twisted to the side. It was a 1/0 wire finesse hook.  Gamagatsu hook. CRESTFALLEN does not describe my mood.  It might have been a great fish. (Dare I say PB?)  I’ve never felt anything so powerful.  I’m sure my light rod/reel magnified the weight. 
 

so how exactly do you fight a bigun with such light gear?  I’m not a great fish fighter.   Do you supplement a looser drag with thumb friction?  Teach me please. I’ll probably reserve the setup for the worst fishing days. A hail-Mary setup. 
 

it was ugly. 

[Mat_ski]

If the fish wants to run let it run. Let the drag do the work. With lighter gear yanking the fish in on a locked drag is a bad idea. Set your drag appropriately to you line size and use it to your advantage.

[A-Jay]

@Darth-Baiter

For me, any time I'm pinned to an over-size creature with undersized gear,

it Always starts and ends with 'having a plan'.

I need to know what to do and perhaps more importantly - when.

I've lost a few bigguns' but I've probably landed more than I've lost.

From the hookset, to playing the fish and finally landing the fish, 

whatever that process is going to be for you, be ready to do it - every cast.

Some bassheads use the drag exclusively, some engage free spool and thumb it;

either way being seriously out gunned is a fairly helpless feeling.

But with some fore thought & patience we can help tip the odds to our favor.

Unfortunately, the learning curve can be pretty steep as you seemed to find out.

You'll probably do better next time.

A-Jay

 

[TnRiver46]

34 minutes ago, Darth-Baiter said:

Today was not great.  Windy as heck.  Gust up to 30-40 probably. 
 

fish were stubborn and dieting or something.  Zero bites.  I reached for my Finesse baitcaster and rigged up a super light weighted Texas rig.  I used the tail section of a trick worm. It was like skinny TRD finesse. 
 

I casted it out there. I was quietly marveling at how far  that bait flew. Daydreaming almost.  TICK!!  Huh?  Was that a tick?  I set the hook thinking hook sets are free.  
 

All hell broke loose.  My reel drag was way too tight.  I somehow got the rod and fish on the other side of my kayak before it sucked my rod tip under my boat for a for sure rod-snappage.   There was zero turning that fish. I was reaching to loosen the drag when I felt it come loose. I let loose an, “AARGGHH!” That may still be echoing in that valley.  There were too many children on the beach for me to say what I wanted.

 

I looked at the hook and the point was twisted to the side. It was a 1/0 wire finesse hook.  Gamagatsu hook. CRESTFALLEN does not describe my mood.  It might have been a great fish. (Dare I say PB?)  I’ve never felt anything so powerful.  I’m sure my light rod/reel magnified the weight. 
 

so how exactly do you fight a bigun with such light gear?  I’m not a great fish fighter.   Do you supplement a looser drag with thumb friction?  Teach me please. I’ll probably reserve the setup for the worst fishing days. A hail-Mary setup. 
 

it was ugly. 

When they pull hard like that, push the button! At least then you wouldn’t have had to reach for it like you did the drag. 
 

i caught a monster LMB with my buddy’s rod that I just picked up of the floor of the boat once. The fish nearly pulled me off the front deck of my boat, buried the rod onto the gunnel and the tip was way underwater. That was the first time I ever “freespooled” aka pushed the button and thumbed the fish. I had never heard of the tactic, I just needed to get some line out and didn’t have time to fiddle with drag. Trebles didn’t rip out or bend, Fish ended up in the boat

 

nowadays I never use drag, I much prefer the manual methods 

[WRB]

Set the drag 1/3rd the line strength before you started fishing and trust the drag you paid for.

Tom

[GreenPig]

I speak to them in a calm but confident tone and they usually just swim into the net. But I do set my drag to accommodate because some are hard headed. 

[Darth-Baiter]

42 minutes ago, WRB said:

Set the drag 1/3rd the line strength before you started fishing and trust the drag you paid for.

Tom

Tough ti set the hook with a looser drag no?

[VolFan]

What Tom said. That’s why you have a drag. In a kayak, keep the rod on the same side of the boat as the fish, usually you can take the tip around the front. Let them pull you around, it’s just another big drag. Have a net - don’t futzle with big fish boat side on small line. You will lose, often.

And it will make you sad directly proportionally to the size of fish and cost of lure you broke off.

[Hammer 4]

1 hour ago, Darth-Baiter said:

Tough ti set the hook with a looser drag no?

No, it's not. just press your thumb on the spool when you set the hook, only takes a split second, then let the drag do it's work. Better to have a bit to loose than to tight, as was your case. Better luck next time.

[redmeansdistortion]

7 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

Tough ti set the hook with a looser drag no?

As long as your hooks are sharp, and they should be regardless, you'll be fine.  

[FishinBuck07]

7 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

Tough ti set the hook with a looser drag no?

Not if it was a light wire hook as you said.  

[SC53]

8 hours ago, WRB said:

Set the drag 1/3rd the line strength before you started fishing and trust the drag you paid for.

Tom

Like Tom said, reels come with drags for a reason, use them. It constantly amazes me seeing people (pros) pulling line off a spinning reel or throwing a baitcaster in and out of free-spool to give fish line when that’s what the drag is for. ??‍♂️ 
And no it won’t affect hookset, worst thing the drag will do is slip some.

Which it is supposed to do!

 

[bulldog1935]

Close, you set the drag to 1/4 of the weakest link, leader or line test, or rod max line rating. 

I use a spring balance at the first guide (closest to the reel). 

The reason for this is both shock-loading and rod leverage can add back the 4x

 

If 10-lbs is your weakest link, the drag set should be 2-1/2 lbs

(one-fourth of 6 lbs = 1-1/2 lbs, etc)

 

btw, when I was 19, I landed a 6-1/2-lb largemouth on a jitterbug and Daiwa Minicast. 

My dad was going crazy while I played the fish - GET IT IN THE BOAT - but she had to wind a bit before I could lip her.  Her size belied her weight - she was lean from guarding her nest. 

[WC53]

If the hook bent, too much drag or hook set.  Those light wire hooks don’t need much force to penetrate. Bonefish hooks are also good as well as just a circle hook through the front of a small plastic.

when they run under you, press the button and keep the thumb there to prevent a blow up until you get situated. Let the drag be your friend. Take the kayak sleigh ride, there is only so much pressure you can put on a running fish. If the old girl is heading for structure and you have a light hook, just enjoy the feeling while it lasts  A big saltwater fish is way different than horsing a LMB in.

 

And A+ for thread title 

[813basstard]

Can’t help you with drag or hooks, but I’m working  ‘Crestfallen’ into the lexicon today

[softwateronly]

I know I don't set the drag properly on single hook presentations, but this is working for me.  I fish large hooks and lots of weedless presentations for my northern LB quarry, so I like to really hit the fish.  I also have relatively quick reactions for a hookset, but poor reaction time to get my thumb properly set on the spool.  So I've gotten good at a hookset with a locked down drag and an immediate drag back off once I feel the headshake/weight, before I start cranking.  I then use a light drag and thumb on the spool to fight the fish.  Like most, I can still get burned by green torpedos speeding directly at me because I have to flip my usual order of operations or lose that crank time loosening the drag.   I also fall victim to  not returning to a locked down drag on the next bite way too often.

 

But your dilemma is about a thin wire finesse hook.  In my system, I'm setting the drag properly then adding 2-3 clicks more is where I would be.  My time in a kayak fishing says hooksets happen in awkward positions more than not and leverage gets compromised frequently.  Personally, I sometimes forget the swept rod hookset when that low to the water, so I'd want a bit more drag for the less effective snap up hookset.

 

With trebles, I'm the opposite and completely rely on a properly set drag and softer rods.

 

I think you'll get the next one, BFS or not.

 

scott

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[cyclops2]

The drag level is always a changing compromise with me. Deep open water? Run light.

Casting to 3 to 5' from weed edges. I set it heaver & use stronger black hooks.   Done all I can think of.

[Darth-Baiter]

Thanks everyone!  Lots for me to work on!  Great advice. 

[WRB]

11 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

Tough ti set the hook with a looser drag no?

No! Set the drag with a scale or dead weight; 1 pint of water in plastic drink bottle weighs 1 lb. You can easily put the bottles in a plastic grocery bag, hook the bag handle and lift with your, then set the drag to the weight until it starts to slip.

You will be surprised how much 1/3 the line strength is!

6 lb test is 2 lbs, 8 lb is just under 3 lbs, 12 lbs is 4 lbs, don’t go any higher the 4 lbs with MH rods.

Tom

[islandbass]

13 hours ago, Darth-Baiter said:

Tough ti set the hook with a looser drag no?

In theory, not really. WRB is correct. You’re using a light wire hook anyway. Even with the drag set at 1/3 to the line strength it should drive the hook home unless you’re so far away that you no longer have the necessary line control that the rod could not effectively set the hook anyway.

Other than that scenario, hook set will happen. Trust your gear and play the fish, keeping tension on your line at all times, and you should win more times than not. 
 

Your rod and reels are tools and should be used as such. If you still don’t trust us, set the drag to 1/3 and use your thumb as your “max drag” to set your hook until you realize it isn’t required.
 

One other thing as someone who tends more to the UL and finesse side until recently. When keep tension on the line, be aware and mindful of your rod’s angle to ensure your rod is applying the maximum power. This is roughly around 45 degrees. The closer you get to 90 the less than influence you have and the closer you get to high sticking. This is a must when fighting fish with lighter gear. 
 

With all that said, sorry for you loss. We all know that sinking feeling and then your mind has the audacity to replay it over and over in your mind like a record player bumped by a scratch. ??

 

[Darth-Baiter]

7 hours ago, WRB said:

No! Set the drag with a scale or dead weight; 1 pint of water in plastic drink bottle weighs 1 lb. You can easily put the bottles in a plastic grocery bag, hook the bag handle and lift with your, then set the drag to the weight until it starts to slip.

You will be surprised how much 1/3 the line strength is!

6 lb test is 2 lbs, 8 lb is just under 3 lbs, 12 lbs is 4 lbs, don’t go any higher the 4 lbs with MH rods.

Tom

Thanks. I’m pretty good at math

 

it was just a question. 

[king fisher]

In stories about big fish getting away, the most common sentence is. He's taking line, I think I will tighten the drag.  Most common sentence in big fish landed stories.  He was way to big for my gear, but I took my time, let him run, check out my pictures. 

[A-Jay]

28 minutes ago, king fisher said:

In stories about big fish getting away, the most common sentence is. He's taking line, I think I will tighten the drag.  Most common sentence in big fish landed stories.  He was way to big for my gear, but I took my time, let him run, check out my pictures. 

AND THIS is why I never use Shallow spools.

#deepspoolsrule

A-Jay

 

 

[bulldog1935]

l to r,

3-mm spool 120 m 27-lb braid; 5 mm spool 300 m 35-lb braid; 5 mm spool 200 m 35-lb braid

 

19-lb leader on the left, 30-lb leader on both surf reels

and for all the pontiffs, they're essentially backlash-proof

 

Catching big fish on light tackle.  If you don't do anything to frighten the fish early, but simply confuse them, they wind themselves before you put the pressure on, and you can land them quickly. 

I released this 25" rainbow hen, and 2 weeks later she was caught by a guide's fare and is the current state record.  (miles away, I released a buck 2" longer than her). 

Judging by the results of their photo session, I suspect they killed her. 

[FishTank]

My two biggest fish were caught on 6lb test line and light spinning gear.  I caught a 40lb blue catfish and a 10lb+ large mouth. Setting the drag and using it to bring the fish in was essential.

 

I set the drag by hand.  There are many ways to do this but I do it by feel. Once you get it set you know how to handle the fish and set the hook.  Getting too excited and tightening down the drag is a good way to loose fish (depending on the line).